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Julie Kreutzer: Gun regulations -- Let's be reasonable

Posted:
02/06/2013 01:00:00 AM MST

The gun control debate is raging so I read Mr. Clifton's letter with interest. I am a gun owner and I agree that we have the right to bear arms to defend ourselves under the Second Amendment. But our Second Amendment rights are not unlimited and some reasonable restrictions are necessary.

The proposed ban would outlaw weapons including those that can launch grenades and rockets. We don't need battlefield weapons like this for self-defense or hunting any more than I need a cannon on my balcony to repel potential home invaders. To say that the Second Amendment protects our right to bear all weapons at any time is absurd; battlefield weapons are for the battlefield. And saying the Second Amendment is absolute among all of our rights is nonsense.

For example, my First Amendment right to free speech is considered an important right but it doesn't allow me to shout fire in a crowded theater. My Second Amendment right, likewise, doesn't mean I can have any weapon I want to be used at any time I choose. My right to bear arms has to be limited according to what is safe for school children, theater goers and my neighbors.

We know what happens when unstable people get battlefield weapons; we can't stop them before they commit mass murder. Mr. Clifton says a firearm is like a shovel -- that it is just a tool. These particular tools have caused too much death in this country and so we need to make a change in the law that works. It can be done.

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A recent example is drunk driving. It used to be that people deplored all of the victims of drunk drivers but we assumed that our need to drive meant nothing could be done. Then we instituted drunk driving laws and our casualty rate went down dramatically though of course it hasn't completely ended. We can do the same with gun deaths and we must.

The assault weapons ban is the best place to start, since it regulates battlefield weapons. Please read up on the proposed ban and then join me in contacting your senators and representatives. They have to hear from us since the gun lobby and the National Rifle Association seem to be dominating the discussion and preventing passage of even the most moderate legislation in Congress.

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